News anchors work at the Newsmax booth during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
A defamation lawsuit has been reached between an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by former President Donald Trump’s allies and a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election.
Newsmax confirmed Thursday that an agreement had been reached, but further details were not disclosed. Voting machine company Smartmatic alludes to newsmax show hosts and guests in November and December 2020 that Smartmatic participated in rigging results and that its software was used to switch votes. He claimed that he had made false and defamatory statements.
Newsmax insisted it was only reporting newsworthy claims by Trump and his supporters, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and conservative lawyer Sidney Powell.
The Delaware lawsuit challenges Newsmax’s coverage over a five-week period in late 2020, and is one of several lawsuits stemming from the conservative news outlet’s post-election coverage.
Smartmatic also sued Fox News for defamation in New York and recently settled a lawsuit in the District of Columbia against One America News Network, another conservative news organization.
Dominion Voting Systems similarly filed several defamation lawsuits against people who spread conspiracy theories that its election equipment caused Trump’s loss. Last year, Fox News settled with Dominion for $787 million in a lawsuit led by Davis.
